But Kris Commons is set to begin contract talks with the club on Tuesday and Celtic have all but completed the £2m signing of Sporting Gijon’s Serb striker Stefan Scepovic.

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Lawwell yesterday launched a staunch defence of the club’s signing policy, which has come under fire from fans, but insisted failure to land the Champions League jackpot does not mean any of Ronny Deila’s main men will have be sold.

He said: “Categorically, we do not want to sell Virgil. We have had phone calls but they have had no encouragement.

“We don’t have to sell him. The way we have operated over the past few years we have built up that buffer.

“We don’t have to go and sell three or four players. We’ve got a bit of stability there.”

Commons is in the last year of his deal but Lawwell and boss Ronny Deila are adamant they want Scotland’s Player of the Year last season to stay.

Lawwell said: “His agent is coming in on Tuesday to talk about an extension. We wanted to get the window out of the way first.”

Deila added: “Kris knows he has a future here, he knows he’s an important player for the team.”

Lawwell believes the deal to bring Scepovic to Glasgow will be completed over the weekend.

He said: “Scepovic has his medical on Saturday. Touch wood, all goes well.”